China anti-terror manual to enlist Beijing residents

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Fri, Jul 18 12:13 PM

BEIJING (Reuters) - Having deployed surface-to-air missiles, readied a 100,000-strong anti-terrorism force and instituted a series of security checkpoints, Beijing is adding Chinese residents as another layer in its shield to protect Olympics venues against possible attack.

Security officials are publishing a new "anti-terrorism manual" to educate Chinese about possible threats and instructing them how to respond in the event they are captured or encounter a threat, according to a Xinhua news agency report on Friday.

"When you notice something suspicious, you need to check it first, then listen, then smell, but try to avoid touching it," the manual says, according to Xinhua.

It said the manual describes 39 different potential terrorism threats, including explosions, arson, shootings, hijacking and even chemical, biological, or nuclear attacks.

The security-obsessed government has identified a possible terrorist attack as the biggest potential threat to the successful hosting of the Games, which run from Aug. 8-24, and it has widely publicised its security preparations.

"You also have to hide your mobile phones if kidnapped by terrorists," an excerpt of the manual says, according to Xinhua.

It was not clear how many copies of the manual would be published or when and how it might be distributed.

China, eager to use the Games to showcase its rise as a modern economic power, has said that homegrown threats top security worries, including from Uighur militants campaigning for independence for Xinjiang in China's far northwest and from Tibetan independence groups.

Officials said security forces had foiled five "terrorism groups" planning to attack the Beijing Olympics, with police detaining 82 people in Xinjiang.

But rights groups say that China is using Olympic security as an excuse to crack down on internal dissent.

(For more stories visit our multimedia website "Road to Beijing" at http://www.reuters.com/news/sports/2008olympics; and see our blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china)

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